Four In a Row

Stingers Remain Undefeated with Win over Martlets

A fast start and a strong finish is how the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team recorded their fourth win of the season, defeating the McGill Martlets 72-62 at the Concordia gym last Saturday.

Concordia started off on the right foot against their longtime rivals, scoring 15 straight points to open the first quarter.

The Stingers looked more like machines than humans throughout the quarter, scoring from everywhere on offense and denying McGill on each of their scoring attempts on defense.

Though they entered the second with a commanding 23-9 lead, the Stingers fell back to Earth in that quarter, allowing the Martlets to come back strong, narrowing the score to 34-31 by halftime.

After an evenly-matched third quarter where McGill took its first lead of the game, Stingers guard Kaylah Barrett showed why she was named last year league’s MVP. Barrett nailed three three-point shots in the fourth to help the Stingers retake the lead en route to their fourth straight win of the season.

“Basketball is a physical sport; if you can’t handle it, you better not play.” —Stingers guard Kaylah Barrett

“That’s what I live for, a tight basketball game where you need to score points and put your team up,” said Barrett, who finished with 21 points and amassed six rebounds and four assists. In a game where the referees called over 40 personal fouls, Barrett wasn’t afraid to drive into traffic, even if that meant getting battered and bruised.

“Basketball is a physical sport; if you can’t handle it, you better not play,” she said.

Barrett wasn’t the only player with a strong game for the Stingers. Rookie Marilyse Roy-Viau played a key role in giving an early lead to the Stingers and finished the game with 15 points.

Another first-year player who left a good impression on her coach was forward Richelle Gregoire. Thrust onto the court after Barrett and Roy-Viau found themselves in foul trouble, Gregoire finished the game with 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Stingers head coach Keith Pruden was pleased with his team performance. “We showed composure in the fourth quarter when they took their lead,” he said. “Not only did it not bother us, but we started playing better,” he said. “I think we’re better than last year because we’re deeper and we have more skilled players.”

With the win, the Stingers now stand alone atop their conference with a 4-0 record.

The Stingers play their last game before the Christmas break this Friday on the road against the Laval Rouge et Or. Tipoff is at 6:00 p.m.